The Hindu : New Delhi News : DJB seeks maps of illegal colonies to lay pipelines

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Saturday, Jun 09, 2007
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New Delhi

DJB seeks maps of illegal colonies to lay pipelines

Smriti Kak Ramachandran

"Apart from a court order, the hydraulic and technical feasibility of the areas prevents the process"

NEW DELHI: Faced with the possibility of having to provide sewers and drinking water pipes in the 1,500-odd unauthorised colonies across the Capital, the Delhi Jal Board wants to make an early start by identifying the places where the pipelines can be laid.

The Board has asked the Delhi Government to provide it with authenticated maps of unauthorised colonies and the status of their regularisation.

"It is not just a court order that prevents us from laying pipelines for carrying water and sewage in the unauthorised colonies; a far greater concern is the hydraulic and technical feasibility of the areas," said Jal Board Chief Executive Officer Arun Mathur.

Equipped with the maps of these colonies, the Jal Board wants to explore the possibility of laying sewers and water carrying lines in the sewer-less areas, which account for about 30 per cent of Delhi's population.

"At present there is a court order that prohibits the laying of sewers in the unauthorised colonies. But once the plan to extend sewerage facility is firmed up, we will have to get work done, which may take a long time," Mr. Mathur said.

He pointed out that the Board wants to waste no time in carrying out the ground work -- that of assessing the areas where such work can be carried out: "It is important that we are ready to carry out the work, which is why we are aiming to have the infrastructure ready when the clearance is given. This will ensure that work does not get delayed."

"Legal aspects apart," Mr. Mathur added, "we have to make sure that there is a source of water, provision for underground reservoirs, laying of internal and peripheral lines and a conducive geographical terrain in these areas to carry out the work. If there is no provision for laying sewers then we have to work out a solution of tapping the sewerage into the existing system to prevent its flow into the Yamuna. Also, once piped water is supplied to these unauthorised colonies, we can cut down their dependence on water tankers."

According to conservative estimates, 30 per cent of Delhi's population lives in rural areas, unauthorised colonies and slum clusters, where provision for collection of sewage and supply of water is inadequate.

Saving the Yamuna

The Master Plan for Delhi-2021 has suggested provision of sewers in all sewer-less areas of the city to save the Yamuna from further deterioration. The plan, which calls for laying regular sewage system by 2021, has described the capacity of sewerage system in Delhi as "grossly inadequate" as only about 55 per cent of the population is covered under the organised sewerage system and about 15 per cent under on-site sanitation systems.

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